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Knicks vs. Boston Game 1: NEW DEVELOPMENTS

So it’s been a very tough day for Knicks fans today, being stuck in a limbo between recovering from a heartbreaking loss waiting for Game 2 and a growing anger with each release of new information from the media today. Depending on which broadcast you were watching, TNT or MSG, you may have missed some of which I’m about to tell you. The FACT of the matter is, this could be deemed the worst 2 minutes of Playoff refereeing in the history of the NBA, and here’s why…

The no-call on Billups drive– Chauncey drove to the basket with about 2 minutes to go in the 4th, and was knocked to the ground by Jermaine O’Neal, with Billups having to exit the game. There was a little body, but the foul came from the off-hand down low from O’Neal. A missed call, but one I could live with.

Foul on melo– This was perhaps the most questionable call of the game. It’s one thing to be the Away team on the road in the playoffs and you’re not going to get calls, but that is a totally different story than making outrageous calls on the visiting team. Melo was trying to get his arm free from the grasp of Pierce, who was playing extremely aggressive. Hey, this is the playoffs, aggressive play is encouraged, but you can’t start making calls like that with 45 seconds left in a playoff game. That’s just not kosher. Even Pierce was quoted today that it should have been a no-call. Easy to say after you won the game because of this call…

Trip by Garnett on Douglas– Ray Allen was without a doubt the most active player offensively for Boston. His movement around picks was a constant struggle for the Knick guards, and his quick release was at its peak. When Tony was coming off the pick in the last Celtic possession, Garnett clearly tripped TD and he went flying to the ground. We’re talking about Kevin Garnett, the player voted every year [by the players] as the biggest trash talker and deemed one of the most aggressive players in the league. The fact that Ray Allen hit the 3 made it that much worse. At this point, there were 2 missed calls and 1 bad call.

The chest bump by Delonte West– After Ray Allen hit the 3 with 20 seconds left, he ran down the court to meet Delonte West ON THE COURT for a chest bump jumping in the air. Not only is Delonte West not up for any type of 6th man award, but he certainly was not supposed to be on the court as the 6th man for Boston when play was going on LIVE. Whether West thought NY called a timeout or not is irrelevant, this is an automatic technical foul that the referees decided not to make. This is mind boggling. After perhaps a recordbreaking season of technical fouls due to a change in NBA policy, THIS is the technical they decide not to call? An easy call missed by the referees.

Lawrence Frank double teaming Carmelo– Not only was Delonte West on the court as the 6th man, but on the same play wen Melo was taking the ball up the court for NY’s final possession, Lawrence Frank substituted himself for West and decided to play some double-team defense on Melo for the final shot of the game. Frank was fully on the court screaming right next to Melo, and was actually closer to Carmelo than the closest Boston defender. Automatic technical foul?–Not in Boston.

The missed goaltend by Pierce– First off, this was NOT a bad shot by Melo. If he passed off, he would have been accused of delegating responsibility to someone else. He’s been so clutch with the final shot of the game, so I’m okay with him taking that shot. Now, onto another missed call. When Melo’s final shot was on the rim, Paul Pierce’s hand was CLEARLY grabbing the rim. I have to admit, I did not see this when I first watched the game, but I watched the last 2 minutes of the game today on replay and it was as clear as day. Now, I’m not saying Melo’s shot would have gone in if Pierce wasn’t grabbing the rim, but according to NBA rules this is an automatic goaltend!

This string of bad calls and lack of calls in Boston’s favor only makes you wonder, “was there a little home-cookin’ in Boston”? Now I really hope that wasn’t the case, and I don’t think that was the case, but correcting any one of these 6 items I listed above would have changed the game 100%. How in God’s name does this happen??? As much as I hate complaining about refereeing, this was an abysmal display by the referees and they should be ashamed of themselves. End of story.